AA Financial Advisors LLC Buys 752 Shares of AstraZeneca PLC (NASDAQ:AZN)

AA Financial Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of AstraZeneca PLC (NASDAQ:AZN) by 10.8% during the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 7,710 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 752 shares during the quarter. AA Financial Advisors LLC’s holdings in AstraZeneca were worth $601,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Stratos Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its stake in AstraZeneca by 2.0% in the third quarter. Stratos Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 6,699 shares of the company’s stock valued at $522,000 after purchasing an additional 133 shares during the last quarter. Bruce G. Allen Investments LLC grew its stake in shares of AstraZeneca by 19.1% during the 2nd quarter. Bruce G. Allen Investments LLC now owns 860 shares of the company’s stock worth $67,000 after acquiring an additional 138 shares during the period. Carnegie Investment Counsel increased its holdings in AstraZeneca by 0.8% in the 2nd quarter. Carnegie Investment Counsel now owns 17,269 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,347,000 after acquiring an additional 138 shares during the last quarter. CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co raised its stake in AstraZeneca by 40.6% in the 1st quarter. CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co now owns 506 shares of the company’s stock valued at $34,000 after acquiring an additional 146 shares during the period. Finally, Sunpointe LLC lifted its holdings in AstraZeneca by 4.5% during the second quarter. Sunpointe LLC now owns 3,419 shares of the company’s stock valued at $267,000 after purchasing an additional 147 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 20.35% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

AZN has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Barclays raised shares of AstraZeneca to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Monday, June 24th. TD Cowen upped their target price on AstraZeneca from $90.00 to $95.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, August 12th. Erste Group Bank upgraded AstraZeneca from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 11th. Citigroup upgraded shares of AstraZeneca to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Monday, June 24th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lowered shares of AstraZeneca from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Friday, September 13th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has given a hold rating, seven have issued a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $89.75.

AstraZeneca Stock Performance

NASDAQ:AZN opened at $78.26 on Friday. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $81.13 and a 200-day moving average price of $78.20. AstraZeneca PLC has a fifty-two week low of $60.47 and a fifty-two week high of $87.68. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69, a quick ratio of 0.69 and a current ratio of 0.89. The firm has a market cap of $242.65 billion, a PE ratio of 37.81, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.45 and a beta of 0.46.

AstraZeneca (NASDAQ:AZN) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, July 25th. The company reported $0.99 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.98 by $0.01. AstraZeneca had a return on equity of 29.34% and a net margin of 13.11%. The firm had revenue of $12.45 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $12.62 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $1.08 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 9.1% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts predict that AstraZeneca PLC will post 4.07 earnings per share for the current year.

AstraZeneca Cuts Dividend

The company also recently declared a Semi-Annual dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 9th. Investors of record on Friday, August 9th were given a dividend of $0.49 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, August 9th. This represents a dividend yield of 1.8%. AstraZeneca’s dividend payout ratio is presently 47.34%.

About AstraZeneca

AstraZeneca PLC, a biopharmaceutical company, focuses on the discovery, development, manufacture, and commercialization of prescription medicines. The company’s marketed products include Tagrisso, Imfinzi, Lynparza, Calquence, Enhertu, Orpathys, Truqap, Zoladex, Faslodex, Farxiga, Brilinta, Lokelma, Roxadustat, Andexxa, Crestor, Seloken, Onglyza, Bydureon, Fasenra, Breztri, Symbicort, Saphnelo, Tezspire, Pulmicort, Bevespi, and Daliresp for cardiovascular, renal, metabolism, and oncology.